


Growing Pains

by Ya_Boi_Hal



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, What update schedule?, and fighting crime, and possibly dying at the hands of an underground criminal organization, just asahi and his pal being bros, the usual, you know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 16:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9911237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ya_Boi_Hal/pseuds/Ya_Boi_Hal
Summary: In an alternate world where super human beings exist, Asahi just wants to do the right thing and avoid causing anyone's death.It eventually goes spectacularly wrong when an underground criminal organization gets involved. Whoops.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a shitbaby who is bad at the write thing but i do it anyway.  
> Enjoy. *throws crappy confetti into the air*

Asahi jumped to the next roof, feeling the energy course through his body. The man he was following slipped into an alleyway below. Asahi smirked. He had him. He gave the man long enough to figure out it was a dead end before dropping down and blocking the exit. The thief turned to look at him, a look of terror on his face.

“I-I swear I’ll give you the money, just stop chasing me!”, the man wailed, throwing she sack of valuables at Asahi’s feet. “Please, just don’t kill me!” Asahi kicked the sack to the entrance of the alley and moved to the man who was sweating bullets.

“Don’t steal things. It’s very rude.”, Asahi calmly requested, easily picking the man up into his arms. “I’m going to have to detain you until the police arrive. Please keep from doing immoral things like stealing in the future.” Than man frantically nodded and allowed Asahi to zip-tie his hands and feet together. Asahi deposited the man and the stolen goods at the entrance of the alley and went to the nearest payphone to call it in. A shadow loomed behind him.

“Hello. I have to call something in, but I’ll be ready in a second Phase.” The shadow receded slightly as Asahi made the call, but returned the second he finished. A literal shadow climbed up from the ground and hovered expectantly. Asahi smiled and the dark entity mirrored the sediment with a flash of pointy white teeth.

“Ready for tonight? I’m kind of excited! It’ll be really weird not having to leave before the cops come.” The shadow cocked his head and shrugged, but followed Asahi back to the thief. The man was more calm and collected, but still looked at Asahi with wary eyes. Asahi smiled in a way he hoped was comforting, and the three of them settled in to wait for an officer to arrive. Soon, a police cruiser pulled up to the curb. 

“Where were you two? The press is already at the station!” Officer Toyama rolled down his window and honked at them angrily. Phase pointed to the man on the ground as if that explained everything.

“It’s not 8 P.M. in our defense.”, Asahi soothed, pushing the thief into the car and hopping into the passenger side. “We might want to hurry though please.”

“Whose’s that scrub we’re taking with us?”, Officer Toyama asked as they squealed off in the direction of the police station.

“He robbed a family business.” Asahi said, looking at the man in the back. “But he seems like a good guy. Misguided maybe.”

“You think everyone is misguided.”, Officer Toyama snorted, pulling at the back entrance of the station. “You two, out. I’ll take care of this idiot.”

Asahi hopped out and Phase unraveled himself from where he was attached to Asahi’s shadow. They stepped into the station and allowed themselves to be led to a secured pressroom and sat at the front. Phase’s white eyes turned to Asahi and then back to the crowd. Asahi gave him a small smile and turned to the people in front of him. The chief sat beside Asahi and turned on their mics.

“I know this is quite unusual, but as a result of the recent crime rate plummeting, we have decided to allow the presence the two vigilantes dubbed Dauntling and Phase on the condition they do their work lawfully. The two have agreed to accept questions from the public, as per our recommendation. Please keep these questions brief and appropriate for all ages.” The chief sat back, watching the flurry of raised hands with a small scowl. A reporter was handed the mic.

“How long have you been active in our area?”  
“Um… I’ve been active for four years almost, but Phase has been active for three… We’ve been working together for almost two years.”

“What are your abilities?”  
“I have the ability to enhance my strength and stamina. I have no idea what all phase can do, but abilities involve shadow manipulation, shadow traveling, and for some reason some kind of black goop? I don’t think Phase even knows what he can do to be honest.” Phase shrugged when Asahi looked at him for confirmation, not knowing the answer either. 

“Why isn’t Phase answering? Is it even human?”  
“Phase is human, so please don’t be rude to him. He’s unable to form words while in this form so I’ll be doing most of the talking.” Phase opened his mouth and let out a couple static hisses to emphasize the point.

“What made you decide to partner with the police force?”  
“Well, it’s kind of hard to catch people doing bad things when other people are trying to catch you… It’s easier for both parties so we can do our jobs effectively.” 

“Are you a danger to our community.”  
“Wow, that’s a good question. I guess anyone can be a danger if they do bad things. Phase and I try to be moral and not do anything illegal when we do our job, so I guess we’re not a danger? We always make sure there’s no kind of collateral damage or anyone hurt when we’re working.”

“You call it ‘working’. Why?”  
“Because we were given these abilities and it would be selfish to do nothing with them, so we use them to ‘work’ on bettering our community.”

“Did you give yourselves your aliases?”  
“No! The public actually named us. Phase likes his, even though he acts like it’s terrible. I’m… less than fond of mine but it was given to me so it’d be rude to refuse it. Dauntling is a kind of… scary name. I’m not that scary, at least, I’d like to think that I’m not.”

“One more question.”, The chief called, looking at his watch with a frown.

“What do you do when you’re not working?”

“We live our lives, just like everyone else.”  
_________

“It was so cool! I didn’t even know there was any supers around here!” Noya crooned, jumping around Asahi. He gave the smaller teen a weak chuckle and spun a ball in his hands, trying to ignore the anxious twisting starting to form in the pit of his stomach. It was a little odd to be talking about himself with someone who didn’t know he was Dauntling.

“I liked Dauntling’s hair…” Asahi added, blowing at a lock that fell from his bun. It was true, he did like his hair when it was down and he was in costume. It helped cover his face and eased the constant migraine he seemed to keep. Plus, if he didn’t lie he wouldn’t have to remember what he used as a coverup.

“Yeah! His outfit was super cool too! I wish I could pull off a bodysuit and a mask! What do you think Asahi, could I be an awesome superhero?”

“Don’t quit your day job.” Tsukishima jeered, from across the net, a firm frown worked onto his features.

“Stupid Tsukishima! I’ll show you!” The two of them squabbled and Asahi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Keeping it a secret was harder when everyone actually knew Dauntling existed. He wondered how Phase was faring, wherever he was. The duo had never revealed their real identities to the other, so anyone could be his shadowy friend. Practice continued, filled with conversation about Dauntling and Phase as well as the dreaded question about who they really were.

“I bet Dauntling is a bodybuilder and Phase is some kind of secret agent!” Hinata made a couple demonstrating poses to expression his point.

“No, I bet they’re both ninjas!” Tanaka argued, his face full of awe.

“I bet they’re both less stupid then both of you.” Tsukishima muttered, tugging his shirt over his head. 

“Why are you so mean today!” Hinata pointed at Tsukishima with a frown. Tsukishima scowled back and finished tugging his clothes on, but didn’t reply.

“Don’t mind Tsukki.”, Yamaguchi commented as he watched his friend sweep out the door with sad eyes. “He’s had a lot on his mind lately.”

“He’s an overthinker, that’s for sure…. Let’s get to homeroom. Some of you numbskulls need the extra class time.”, Daichi commented, grabbing his schoolbag. Knowing who Daichi was calling out, Asahi snickered and followed his friend out. Noya and Tanaka soon followed them out, hissing offended complaints and slinking to their classrooms, while Hinata and Kageyama accepted the underhanded insult and raced to their classrooms, ready to learn. Asahi parted ways with Daichi and Suga and slipped to his desk, trying to ignore all the chat about supers.

“Good morning class! Today we’re going to talk about the exciting news about supers! Pull out some paper and make a list of questions to debate about and we’ll discuss the effect supers can have on our area both negative, and positive!” The class cheered, very excited over their topic, but the churning in Asahi’s stomach grew. Regret filed him as the whispers of all the things he could do wrong while on the job grew in his head and in actual volume as heated debates started between his classmates. His hands started to shake as words like ‘collateral damage’ and ‘civilian casualties’ came up. He had already thought about those. A lot actually, especially at night and on the job, wondering if what they were doing was right and what would happen when they’d eventually mess up. Nightmares of his friend’s dead bodies and the awful shrieks that Phase could only utter when he was hurt resurfaced and his heart rate shot through the roof. He quietly asked to be excused and went to puke.

After a couple dry heaves and the reappearance of his breakfast, Asahi sat back against the stall door put his hands in his hands with a groan. He couldn’t do this. He was useless as Asahi and dangerous as Dauntling. Whatever he did as either would result the same way, everyone he loved dying or him and Phase dying. There was no other way to avoid those truths. He’d seen the carnage that could happen from news reels and comic books. Hell, he sees it firsthand every night from petty vandalism to the destruction other supers could bring.

Asahi finished emptying his stomach, and returned to class. The rest of the day was just as nauseating, the constant mention of Dauntling and Phase making him sick. He managed to make it through afternoon practice and home without spewing on anyone. He ended up sitting on his bed contemplating his life choices most of the afternoon. Dusk rolled around and he pulled out his costume, debating whether he was doing the right thing by putting it on. He couldn’t leave Phase hanging at their usual meeting spot, so regardless of if he continued work, he would have to go talk to Phase eventually. Yeah. He could make it to Phase. He quickly changed and dipped out of the house, once again grateful for his parents working night shifts at work. He ambled to the junkyard and waited for Phase to slink out of the shadows. A dark blur squirmed under a moth-eaten couch and Phase crawled out much like a demon in a horror movie would.

“It stopped being scary after a couple months. I may be a coward, but at least I’m not repetitive.”, Asahi commented, unamused by Phase’s attempt to spook him. Phase let a small static hiss essentially meaning ‘boo’ and flopped onto the couch dejectedly. 

“Bad day?” Asahi sat down next to him and drew his knees in. Phase nodded and mirrored him, hugging his long legs to his chest. “Yeah. I understand. I had another anxiety attack earlier about all this. I almost didn’t come, but I didn’t want you to worry when I didn’t show up.” Phase opened his mouth and let lose a high pitched whine and narrowed his eye sockets, almost as if to scold him.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. It’s just…. It’s difficult thinking about what could go wrong. Everyone we love could die. People we don’t know could die. We could die. It’s just so confusing and hard to decide what to do.” Phase nodded and drew into himself more. They sat curled up until Asahi shook himself. They were already suited up and ready to go, might as well do something useful.

“The usual deal? If you find em’, I’ll confront them?” Phase gave him a weak thumbs-up and melted into the shadows. Asahi waited patiently on the couch, picking at the hem of his gloves. About ten minutes later, Phase returned with a frown and bared fangs.

“Find one?” Phase made a finger gun and the gesture for ‘cash’.

“Armed robbery? Again?” Phase pointed to the middle of the town and urgently shoved him in that direction, uncharacteristically pushy. That was always a bad sign. He followed Phase to a familiar corner shop and images of the possibilities flooded his mind. Ukai could be shot. His teammates may be there. Everyone could be dead. Armed robberies never went according to plan and Asahi could end up killing them all in one fell stroke. Phase gave him a little push and slid under the door and hid under a shelf. The shade glanced around and gave Asahi a three on his left hand and a two on his right. Three civilians and two offenders. Asahi nodded and tiptoed to the back entrance and pried the door open. He quickly ducked in behind the register and waited for Phase’s signal. Adrenalin pumped through him, pushing away any of the anxiety left in him. His sympathetic nervous system kicked in, reading him to run or fight and triggering his abilities. Phase moved up the wall and to the ceiling before hovering over a spot by the door and dropping down in a nearby corner. Asahi ducked and weaved between shelves until he had his eyes on the assailants. Two men. One with a gun. Both shorter than him. Phase was covering the civilians. One solid hit to both and he could take them down.

He lunged at the first and used the momentum to knock the other man down with him. They scuffled a bit until one of the men broke away and leveled his gun on Asahi. A cautionary white noise filled the air and Asahi echoed it with a hum, electricity arching up his legs. Asahi turned to civilians and walked calmly towards them. The man holding the gun shouted something but Asahi ignored it, blocking the people in the corner from his view. A gloopy form rose from the floor with a shriek and consumed him before he could pull the trigger. The other assailant backed away in horror as his partner screamed. After a few seconds, Phase flung the slime-covered man to the floor, reached into the white void that was his mouth, and pulled out the gun with a gag. While the men were stunned, Asahi quickly fished out his zip ties and got to work.

“Thank you.” A shaky voice broke him out of his adrenalin –fueled trance. He willed his heart to stop pounding and evened his erratic breathing. His head cleared and he could finally think without a hormone cloud hovering in his brain.

“It’s never a problem. We’re just doing our job.” Asahi smiled and looked up. Coach Ukai’s pale face came into view and Asahi looked down shyly. “Is everyone alright?”

“Yeah… I think we’re just shaken up. Wow. I almost got robbed. Huh.” Ukai let out a shaky laugh. “I guess I really should have invested on a security system.” An old woman, and a middle aged man uncurled from around someone in the corner and Asahi felt a lump growing in his throat at the sight of red hair. Hinata blinked and stumbled over to Ukai and Asahi.

“Thank you.” Hinata briefly bowed before rushing over to Phase excitedly. “How did you do that?! That was so cool!!!” Phase seemed to puff up proudly at the word ‘cool’, more accustomed to more… fearful reaction from people. Phase shrugged and gave Hinata a toothy grin.

“That’s still real neat! How do you eat?” Phase pointed at his mouth with an unimpressed look, the euphoria of being called ‘cool’ over as Hinata barraged him with questions.

“Hey, are you alright kid?”, Asahi softly asked. A nasty bruise had formed on Hinata’s arm. Asahi stepped forwards and gently touched it, an image of Hinata’s broken body filling his head.

“Oh! Yeah! When the bad guys broke in they tried to grab Amano-san!” He pointed at the old lady with an outraged look. “When they had the gun pointed at Coach Ukai, me and Fukunaga-san got her out of the way! They grabbed really hard me but Coach was so cool! He punched one of them in the stomach and got us to the corner and then you guys showed up all blam! And Wham! And pow!” Hinata posed and pointed at them dramatically with a grin.

“But’s he not doing anything stupid like that again, are you kid?”, Ukai threatened, a dark smile on his face. Hinata saluted and frantically assured Ukai that he wouldn’t. Asahi sweat dropped and turned to Phase who was hovering over Asahi’s shoulder. Phase rolled his eyes and pointed to the phone. Asahi nodded and dialed the police, informing them about what happened.

“Dauntling. Phase.” Ukai called, looking sheepish. “Thank you, again for what you did. Here, take some of these on the house. My volleyball kids love them.” A bag of meat buns was thrust into Asahi’s arms. Phase chirped appreciatively and Asahi thanked Ukai several times before the police arrived. When the perps were loaded up, the duo slipped out the door and back to the junkyard to recover. Asahi stretched his stiff muscles and watched as Phase sorted the meat buns into two even stacks. Using his ability made his muscles break down and repair quicker than normal, enhancing his strength and stamina at the cost of unbelievable soreness and occasional joint pain. Phase dropped Asahi’s share of the meat buns next to him and returned to the couch to eat his own.

“I’m not quitting.”, Asahi stated turning to Phase. “After today I couldn’t. I knew two of the people in the store. I can’t just leave them undefended.” Phase looked back grimly and shoved himself into the corners of the couch with a nod.

“Now that we’re on the same page about that, I’ve been thinking about something.” Phase mock-gasped. “Yeah, yeah, I can think, shut up.”

“I want to tell you who I am outside all this, but if I do, you’ll feel obligated too and I don’t want that. It just makes me so tired to have to constantly worry about everyone I know, including you. I’ve known you since you started and we’re been partners for two years. I kind of want to share things with you I can’t? I don’t know I’m rambling but— “Phase drifted over and put a hand over Asahi’s mouth. His usual smirk was replaced with a thin white line. Asahi looked away from his eyes. Phase grabbed Asahi’s face and relinked their eyes, wanting to know how serious Asahi was about it. Asahi bit his lip, regretting even asking. Phase sighed and moved back. He held up two fingers pointedly and lowered one. Half. Half of what?

The white of Phase’s mouth and eyes covered his body and dissipated, leaving someone roughly his height kneeling on the ground. He wore a black hoodie and pants with a pair of thick black googles and a half-mask covering his face. He pulled down the half-mask to reveal a smirk Asahi knew was definitely Phase’s. Phase sat on the couch and nibbled on his meat buns, giving a ‘go on’ gesture to Asahi. He gave Phase a look of appreciation and pulled off his full-face mask.

Asahi awkwardly waddled to the sofa with his meat buns, trying to gauge Phase’s reaction. His entire face felt clammy from his mask and he could feel a drop of sweat roll down his spine. Asahi tugged his hair up in one of the hair ties he kept in a jar next to the couch. 

“Thank you. For listening to me.”, Asahi whispered, feeling very sentimental all of the sudden. Phase nodded awkwardly and opened his mouth as is to say something, but quickly snapped his jaw shut. He gave Asahi’s shoulder a firm pat and went back to finishing his meal. They sat in relative silence, Asahi’s empty babbling filling up the air. After Phase shifted back to a shadow, they went back to work and took down several petty thieves and drug dealers before calling it a night. Asahi trudged home feeling better than he did earlier. 

\--

“So what are we going to do about them?”, The man demanded, looking at the footage on the screen. “They’re getting in the way of everything!” 

“Patience. We just need to make them weak. Vulnerable. If we take away what they care about, they’ll be crushed like putty our hands. You saw their reaction when our underlings robbed their precious volleyball coach’s store.”, She sneered, pulling up two files. “They’re only high school boys. It’s not like they’re actually trained. Give me a week and I’ll destroy them.” 

“You better not fail. We both have things to lose.”, He warned. 

“I know that better than anyone. Why do you think I’m sending myself instead of you?”

**Author's Note:**

> No betas. I die like a man.  
> Pull the trigger piglet.
> 
> Please drag my ass and tell me what sucks.


End file.
